


The Night Shift

by Nyrandrea



Category: Five Nights at Freddy's
Genre: Family Feels, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Heartwarming, all that good stuff, warning for quite a bit of swearing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-16
Updated: 2018-08-16
Packaged: 2019-06-11 16:17:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,026
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15319335
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nyrandrea/pseuds/Nyrandrea
Summary: Everything was pretty normal for Mike Schmidt. Well, as normal as it could get when four murderous animatronics were out for his blood every night. But when one of them finally manages to get into his office, things take a turn.





	1. The Attack

To say Mike was afraid was a gross understatement, he was absolutely _petrified._

Quickly glancing at his tablet, he realised that he only had 25% power left. The time was 4:45am.

There was no way he was going to make it.

_‘Wonderful. Fucking wonderful. I’m…I’m actually going to die in this shithole.’_ Mike angrily thought to himself as he checked through the cameras in a panicked frenzy, his heart painfully thumping against his chest.

Was he having some sort of heart attack?

He didn’t have time to even think about it, he had to stay focused.

The young man took a moment to look away from his tablet and check both doors that served as entrances to the office, the flickering lights illuminated empty hallways, resulting in a small sigh of relief.

There was a chance. Maybe there was a chance. He just had to conserve power.

He just… had to conserve power.

Why the _fuck_ did he even take this job?

* * *

 

_“Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza, where fantasy and fun come to life. How may I help you?”_

The person on the other line sounded incredibly bored, and while normally this would have bothered Mike, he couldn’t have cared less. This was his chance to finally get a permanent income, albeit a low paying one. He could finally pay his god damn rent.

He had tried so many other places in town: Shops, Diners, Offices, but nobody was willing to take him on due to his lack of experience in…well, anything. He wasn’t exactly a star pupil back in school and he didn’t even attempt college. There were probably hundreds more able and reliable applicants.

All of them so much better than him.

Which was why he he couldn’t believe his luck when he saw the hiring advertisement in the paper.

“Um…hi.” Mike inwardly cringed at his awkward tone, “I’m calling in regard to the uh…” He squinted at the newspaper article, “…Night Guard position? Is it still available?”

The line went silent for a moment and Mike was afraid that they had already hung up on him, before a response finally came.

_“Yeah, sure. You’re hired. Come down to the restaurant at about… ten o’clock, we’ll show you the ropes and get you settled in.”_

Mike blinked. That was it?

“But…don’t you need to interview me fir-“ The line was cut off before he could even finish.

He looked at the phone in confusion for a moment before putting it back down. How…how on earth could that have been so easy? Was it even legal to hire someone on the spot just like that?

_‘Whatever. I’ll take what I can get.’_ Mike thought with a small shrug before heading to the shower, he was going to need to freshen up before his first shift.

* * *

 

“Damn it…” He muttered under his breath as his sweaty hands clung to the tablet with an ever-growing grip, flicking through each and every camera. His chest felt like it was going to burst now.

He was going to get through this. He just needed to stay focused.

_‘Bonnie’s near the stage. Good. He probably won’t be much of a problem. Foxy…’_

Mike nearly jumped back in his seat and swore as he switched on the camera to Pirate’s Cove. The animatronic had his head twisted at an abnormal angle as he widely grinned at the monitor, his golden fangs glistening against the camera’s light.

It was almost as if these things enjoyed giving him a hard time.

“…Fuck you.” The guard quietly growled as he flicked onto the next camera in a bid to search for the other two.

Freddy was always the hardest to find as he seemed to prefer to stick to the dark corners of the building, he was also usually the one that gave Mike the worst time out of the four mascots.

As if on cue, a deep rumbling chuckle sounded out through the building, causing a sudden chill down Mike’s spine.

“There you are…” He muttered as the static screen revealed the black abyss of the women’s bathroom and inside; two white pinpricks staring out towards him from the darkness.

Why Freddy went in there was completely beyond him, but it was damn creepy.

But it also meant that he wasn’t really near the office either. Maybe there was a chance. Maybe there was _actually_ a chance that he could survive this.

Wait. Where the hell was Chica?

**_*CRASH*_ **

Mike practically leaped out of his seat and gripped his chest as he heard the sudden loud clattering and banging come from down the right hall but tried to calm himself down as he quickly realised that it meant she was in the kitchen. With a deep breath, he sank himself back down into his chair and recollected his thoughts.

_‘Freddy’s in the bathroom, a little bit away. Bonnie’s nowhere near and Chica’s in the kitchen, hopefully just…keeping herself busy, battering about the pots and pans or whatever. Foxy, I think I can deal with. Just need to keep an eye on him…’_

Mike winced as the harsh light of the tablet screen burned into his bloodshot eyes, he was so damn tired. All he wanted was for this night to end. After that, he was never coming back. Money and rent be damned.

_‘Please, God, let me live. Just let me live…’_

His eyes wandered down to the time before suddenly widening.

It was…it was 5:30am.

He only had half an hour to go.

Believing it too good to be true, he checked how much power remained.

_15%_

That…that was enough. If he could conserve that, he had a chance. He had a chance!

_‘Oh thank you…holy shit…I’m gonna live…’_

He would have cried if it weren’t for the fact that he was still technically in danger. But damn it, he was practically out of here!

He was going to get out, throw this stupid uniform into the nearest trash can and flip off the whole fucking company. But more importantly, he wanted to get his life back on track.

Mike didn’t want to admit it, but the whole near-death experiences during the past few weeks had really put things into perspective for him. He had done nothing in his life that he was particularly proud of.

Maybe he could find somewhere else to live, move to the big city. Jobs were in abundance there, surely even he could find _something_. Literally anything would be better than this.

Then when he had settled in and found work, he could find a girlfriend or something. A partner to share his life with, have a family, become successful. Hell, maybe he could even get back in touch with his parents, tell them what a bigshot he had become.

The mere thought of it made him giddy. This wake up call had been a long time coming.

A distant thud suddenly snapped Mike out of his dazed trance.

_‘Ah…should probably check up on-‘_

The young guard’s head snapped up as the noise seemed to get louder and more…rapid. Like it was picking up speed, almost as if someone was…

_‘…Shit.’_

Mike checked the camera for Pirate’s Cove, his eyes widening when he saw that the vibrant purple curtains were wide open.

“Shit!”

No. There was still a little power left. No way was that thing getting in here. Not now.

With quick reflexes, he slammed his fist onto the left door shutter and waited for the inevitable thump of the metal fox slamming into the door.

Only to be met with an odd clicking sound.

“What?!” Mike cried out in sheer disbelief. “Don’t tell me it’s fucking broken!” Out of desperation, he punched the switch again and again, hoping that the persistent force would somehow bring the door down.

The only thing that he did end up with was a near-broken hand.

That was the least of his worries though as the steps kept getting louder and quicker. It was almost at the office.

With one last-ditch attempt, he kicked the switch, but to no avail. The door wouldn’t budge.

This…this had never happened to him before.

“Why?! God fucking _damn_ it!” Mike didn’t care if his screaming was attracting attention. He was a dead man anyway.

_‘Shit…shit what do I do? The hell CAN I do?!’_

He could make a run for it but how was how he supposed to outrun a robot? Not only that but there was the matter of all those other things waiting out there for him, ready to pounce.

There was also the option of hiding, but it would only be a matter of time before they found him.

Was this seriously it? He was just…supposed to die in the most horrible, gruesome way possible?

Just another tragic death at Freddy fucking Fazbear’s Pizzeria?

“Nah…fuck this.” Mike wiped at the tears that were threatening to escape. “If I’m going down, that piece of shit’s going down with me.”

Quickly reaching behind the desk, he pulled out a small metal pole that he had stashed away after his first week, when he had just begun to realise how dangerous this place really was.

He silently thanked his past self.

His body trembled, his legs felt incredibly weak and his breath shuddered. He wasn’t sure if he was having an adrenaline rush or a heart attack, but either way, he was ready to fight.

An ear-splitting shriek of metal scraping against the floor echoed throughout the hall as a large shadow screeched to a halt just outside the office, glowing yellow eyes pierced into Mike’s. A rusted metal hand gripped onto the edge of the door frame and the hulking figure loomed into the fading light.

As this was the first, and probably last, time the guard had actually managed to get a good look at Foxy, he couldn’t help but notice just how worn down the animatronic really was. The suit was nearly torn to pieces, revealing a lot of the endoskeleton underneath. The bottom half was completely gone, showing only skinny metal legs and huge flat feet.

That would explain why he was so fast, he wasn’t as bulky as the others.

But Mike didn’t have much time to observe anything else as Foxy took a few steps forward and entered the room, towering over him. The robot’s broken jaw hung loosely, revealing a row of pointed fangs.

This was really it then. He was going to die. Nobody was going to remember him.

Just another body to rot away in a suit.

Both man and robot stared each other down for a few minutes, waiting for the other to make a move.

Mike was beginning to wonder if Foxy had broken down or something before the machine took another step, raised his curved hook and released a garbled scream into the young guard’s face.

Mike cried out and swung the pole.


	2. The Misunderstanding

Mike felt like his arms were about to break when the pole swung into the animatronic fox, smashing it against the side of his face. The robot lost his footing and ended up stumbling into the nearby desk while holding his now dented muzzle.

_‘Shit, I actually managed to hit it!’_ Mike thought with absolute disbelief. But it would only be a matter of time before it would recover, and he didn’t want to give it that chance.

The guard braced himself and raised his weapon to strike again before Foxy’s hook shot out and knocked it away with incredible reflex. Mike’s heart started beating faster than ever as the robot glared daggers at him before opening his jaws ever so slightly.

_‘God…this is it…I really am dead…’_

Mike screwed his eyes shut, not wanting to witness his incoming death.

“Argh! Stop wavin’ that thing around, ya swine!”

….. W-What?

He slowly opened his eyes back up, only to see Foxy rubbing his dented snout, looking almost like a wounded puppy.

Mike could only stare in shock, which prompted the animatronic to speak up again.

“What in the bloody blazes did ye do _that_ for?!” Foxy growled, now poking at the wound, wincing while doing so.

“Y-you can…. you…. you can t-talk..?” Mike finally managed to stutter out. He felt like he was going to be sick at the mere fact that he was even still alive right now.

Foxy’s eyepatch raised as he tilted his head and gave the guard a bewildered look.

“Aye…’course I can talk. Your circuits come loose or somethin’?”

_‘Huh. Of course, they would give him a pirate accent.’_ Mike couldn’t help but bitterly observe.

“I uh…circuits…?” Mike quickly stumbled back as Foxy got up from leaning on the desk and stood at his full height, making it so much more obvious how much taller the robot was compared to him.

“An awful jittery wee endo’, aren’t ya?” Foxy remarked, crossing his arms. Though he didn’t make another move towards Mike.

 The guard wanted to keep it that way.

But what did he mean by ‘endo’? Was…was that code for something he didn’t know?

“U-um…. I…”

Mike cursed at himself, this was the worst time to start stuttering. But he couldn’t for the life of him find the right words to say. His nerves were getting the better of him.

“Well, no matter.” Foxy nonchalantly shrugged. “Now c’mon mate, we better get ye back to yer costume eh? Tis the rules after all!”

The fox seemed completely oblivious to Mike’s look of sheer dread as he gave the human his equivalence to an upbeat grin, which looked all the more terrifying due to his broken jaw, before reaching out with a metal hand to grab the back of the young man’s shirt.

Fortunately, Mike’s still ongoing adrenaline rush gave him a slight edge as he swiftly ducked out of the animatronic’s reach, though his clumsy footing made him go crashing to the ground in a bit of a pathetic heap.

“N-no…! Get away from me!” Mike pleaded, his voice breaking.

Foxy looked down at him with a curious gaze before frowning, “What on earth are ye doin’ down there? Ye _need_ to get back into yer suit.”

The robot glanced around for a moment, almost nervously, before dropping his voice to a whisper.

“Bear boss’ll have both our heads if ye don’t.”

Bear boss…? He must have meant Freddy. Mike had always figured he was the sort of ringleader of the group, but Foxy seemed…afraid. Was Freddy threatening the other animatronics?

Foxy cautiously looked around again before making another attempt to grab at the human.

“So, stop givin’ me a hard time and git movin’ already!” His semi-friendly voice dropped to a gravelled snarl.

Once again, Mike scrambled back until he hit the back wall of the office, rendering him trapped.

_‘Shit.’_ He thought as he pushed his back down, hoping that the wall would somehow swallow him up and get him away from this hellish situation.

Mike desperately glanced around as Foxy loomed over him, his eyes widening when he spotted his dropped weapon only inches away. Quickly reaching over and grabbing it, he held the pole up in front of him, hoping that it would at least deter the machine from coming any closer.

“Back…off!” Mike managed to warn between panicked breaths.

But Foxy didn’t pay him any heed and once again reached out to pluck him from the ground.

His fighting instincts taking over, Mike swung the pole frantically to fend his attacker away. Though it didn’t last long as the guard yelped when his only defence was suddenly yanked away from his sweaty grip and crushed into a pitiful scrap heap by Foxy, who then proceeded to drop the metal to the ground before once again turning his attention to his prey.

Mike had to use a different tactic, just something to hold this thing off until 6am. It couldn’t be long now…

“Look…” He started, prompting Foxy to stop his advance and stare curiously. “I’m….I’m really sorry. I think we must have got on the wrong foot here…”

Foxy huffed a mechanical snort, “Aye, you’re the one on the wrong foot here. Cuz yer not in costume!”

Mike swore he had heard something about this before…

“W-…What do you mean…’not in costume’…?” He asked.

The fox jerked his head, looking taken aback for a moment.

“Well….yer an endo, and…yer not in yer suit. Y’know, like the rest of us. Yer breakin’ the rules.” Foxy tilted his rusted head and narrowed his glowing eyes, as if he was studying Mike, “I really don’t be seein’ what the big fuss is all about.”

_‘These guys really think I’m an endoskeleton then?’_ Mike thought back to the messages left for him by a previous employee, warning him that the animatronics had something wrong with their facial scanners, mistaking night guards for robots out of their suits, hence why they tried to stuff them back in.

But…it just didn’t add up somehow. It felt like there was something else at play here.

Nonetheless, surviving was his top priority right now.

“Ok…so…y-you really think I look like…a robot?” Mike asked, hoping to keep Foxy distracted with more questions.

Foxy took a moment to look the guard up and down while rubbing his chin with his hook in a thoughtful manner. Mike couldn’t help but feel incredibly uncomfortable under that sharp gaze.

“…No’ really.” Foxy eventually replied.

Wait, what?

Mike just wanted to stand up there and then and start shouting, demanding why the fuck they were chasing him and trying to stuff him into a suit if he didn’t even _look_ like an endoskeleton to them.

But he held his tongue, choosing instead to take a deep breath. The last thing he wanted to do was to aggravate the very thing that could kill him at a moment’s notice.

“Then…why are you doing this?” He eventually asked, trying to hide away the building fear and anger in his tone.

Foxy blinked, “Because Freddy seems pretty darn sure that yer an endo, and we gots to do what he says.”

So Freddy really was the one behind all of it.

“So…the other two…uh…” Mike stumbled across his words, trying to come up with a cohesive sentence.

“Bonnie and Chica?” Foxy finished for him, raising a mechanical eyebrow.

“Yeah!” Mike nodded, feeling incredibly stupid, “Do they think I’m…?”

“They don’t really care either way, if bear boss says yer an endo, then yer an endo.” Foxy’s gaze slid to the right, “Though Chica’s always too bloody determined to cook ya somethin’ up instead of doin’ the job properly.” He mumbled.

It was now Mike’s turn to raise an eyebrow. So that was why Chica was always making a ruckus in the kitchen? She was making stuff for him? It would certainly explain why there was sometimes freshly baked pizzas outside the office door at the beginning of his shifts, he just thought those were leftovers left by the daytime staff.

“That’s…kinda sweet.” Mike smiled a little at the gesture, unaware for a moment that Foxy was making a move for him again.

He wasn’t ashamed to admit that he screamed when he felt a cold metal hand suddenly grab the back of his shirt, hoisting him up to his feet.

He had lost his focus, there was no way he was going to be able to keep talking himself out of his death now. He was going to get dragged to the backstage area and get shoved into a suit until…until…

He could feel himself getting nauseous again.

But to his surprise, he was gently placed back onto the ground, the grip on his shirt gradually loosening until Mike gained somewhat of a balance on his weakened legs.

 “Give me yer arm.” Foxy said.

“What…?” He barely managed to whisper, looking up to the animatronic.

God, he really was tall.

“I want to get a look at ye, see if ye really are like us or no’.” Foxy held out his mechanical hand, “If yer not, I’ll let ye go.”

Mike scrutinized the fox for a moment, his gaze went from the curved hook to the sharp fangs, before eventually falling onto the rusted hand that was being offered. This was just…so bizarre.

If Foxy maybe realised that Freddy was wrong, and that Mike was actually a person, it could maybe save him. On the other hand, though, this could be just some cruel joke to draw out his inevitable death, dangling hope right in front of his face only to snatch it away and cut his hand off or something before dragging his body away…

Mike shook his head. He really had to stop thinking like that.

Seeing no other option, he nodded.

“Alright…here.” Mike said as he slowly reached out with his trembling arm, yelping slightly when he felt the robot’s cold touch on his skin, “Just…!”

Foxy gazed at him.

“…. Just be careful. We…um…humans are pretty fragile, y’know.”

“I know. I’ve worked with ‘em.”

Oh shit, yeah. He used to be a performer along with Fazbear’s gang before the company retired him.

The guard decided to pipe down as Foxy lowered his head to examine the arm, humming in deep thought as he did so.

_‘Crap. Why hasn’t the damn timer gone off yet? Shouldn’t it be six o’clock by now…?’_ Mike could feel beads of sweat rolling down his forehead.

“Ye do seem squishier than a normal endo…” Foxy mumbled as he poked at Mike’s arm before eventually letting go.

“That’s because I’m _not_ an ‘endo’”. Mike pulled his arm in and quickly glanced at it, surprised it was even still attached to his body. “I’m a person. A human. Not a machine.” He said, really wanting to get his point across.

“Hm. What’s yer name, lad?” Foxy suddenly asked, a friendlier tone drifting back into his voice.

The young man was taken aback slightly by the question, “…Mike.”

“Well, Mike. I’ll certainly give ye the benefit of the doubt. Ye seem like yer human. Ye feel like one and ye sure bloody do act like one.”

The Hell was that supposed to mean?

“But…” Foxy held up a single digit, his tone becoming stern again, “If I don’t be doin’ what Freddy says, I’ll get into a heap o’ trouble.”

This made Mike’s blood run cold.

_‘What? No. Shit, no, no, no, you can’t be fucking serious!’_

“What if…” Mike began, not really knowing what the hell to say. “You give me a chance to uh…to talk to Freddy?”

What the actual fuck was he even saying right now.

“Bear boss?” Foxy seemed equally surprised.

“Y-yeah! I mean, I’m sure this is like…a big misunderstanding, right? I mean, maybe if we talk it out, you won’t have to stuff me into a suit, right?”

Mike gave a hopeful but incredibly nervous grin as the fox crossed his rusted arms.

“Well…”

“I really loved your shows when I was a kid!” He suddenly blurted out. That was fully well a lie, he had never been to a Fazbear restaurant in his life until now. But he was willing to say anything to save himself at this point.

“…Tha’ so, mate?” Foxy’s ears suddenly pricked up in interest.

_‘Oh my God. Oh my God, he bought it.’_ Mike thought, now raking his brain to come up with a believable story. He had read a few things about all the animatronics when he had first started, but his knowledge was limited.

He was just going to have to bullshit it until the clock went off. It had to be soon, right?

“Y-yeah. My parents used to take me here when I was younger. For uh…birthday parties and such.” Mike said, faking a small smile.

“Ah, so ye saw ol’ Foxy when he was back in his prime, eh?” The animatronic said with a fanged grin, his jaw hanging slightly off its hinges.

Mike swallowed a dry lump and nodded.

“Oh, I loved me wee mateys.” Foxy let out a small garbled sigh. “They’d listen to this ol’ seadog tell stories. We’d go on adventures through the Seven Seas, goin’ on treasure hunts and fightin’ off hideous monsters!” He started swinging his hook around in an enthusiastic manner, as if he was back at his cove, entertaining the children.

Mike flinched and tried his best to lean back, afraid that the sharp object might carve into him if it kept swinging about like that.

Fortunately, Foxy settled back down, opting instead to look down at the floor, his metal ears drooping down, “I really miss it, looking after the kiddos.”

Mike frowned. This was new. He’d never seen so much…emotion come from a machine. Were Freddy and the others like this?

Nevertheless, he couldn’t help but feel a pang of guilt for the poor old fox, even if he had been trying to murder his ass.

Mike shifted slightly, the silence was becoming uncomfortable. The minutes were beginning to feel like hours, why on earth hadn’t the other animatronics come for him yet? He was vulnerable at the minute, after all.

Ripe for the taking.

No, he shouldn’t think like that. He had to keep the conversation flowing for as long as it took.

“Well, I…loved your stories when I was little. Your cove was my first stop every time I came here.” Mike said with a small smile. He almost felt bad for lying now.

But Foxy seemed to perk up a little as he grinned at the guard once again.

God, those teeth were terrifying.

“Heh…y’know, yer alright, Mike.”

The guard was just about to respond when a shrill beep sounded out from his tablet.

_‘Shit…I actually made it!’_ It took everything in Mike’s power not to jump around and make a beeline for the front door.

The only thing that confused him though was the fact that Foxy was still active.

“Do you guys not uh…power down at six?” Mike asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Nope.” Was the fox’s blunt reply.

“So…you could still technically kill- Uh…put me into a costume?”

The machine nodded, much to Mike’s horror, “Yup. …Why, do ya want to?”

“No! No…thank you.” The guard blurted, “But then why haven’t you…?”

“Ah, tis’ another one of bear boss’s rules. We can’t hunt after the bell goes. Too close to openin’ time.” Foxy said nonchalantly.

Mike could feel a chill go down his spine as he recalled the numerous times he went directly up to the stage after his shifts to flip the robots off and shout some less than attractive words at them.

“…Oh.”

“Hey now, the mornin’ crew should be getting’ here soon, so I’ll need to be makin’ meself scarce. Ya best git movin’ too, eh? Ye may not be an endo, but ye still got to follow the rules like everyone else.”

Mike couldn’t even begin to move, his body felt completely numb.

“Ah…yeah. Just need to…grab my things.” He said with yet another fake smile.

“Twas a pleasure meetin’ ya, Mike. Hope yer wee chat with Freddy goes well for ya. I’m sure ye’ll sort this wee misunderstandin’ out!” Foxy gave the man a light, playful slap to the shoulder, which nearly sent him sprawling to the ground.

“T-thanks! It was…nice meeting you too…”

He gave a small wave as the animatronic moved out of the office and down the dark hallway, leaving Mike alone in his office once again.

His mind was swimming, what the fuck just happened?

 He…survived.

More than that, he had _talked_ with one of the animatronics that was so Hell bent on killing him, or in their terms: ‘Putting back into costume.’

It was so…strange though. Foxy had displayed a whole range of emotions that Mike had never seen from these guys, or from any kind of machine for that matter. Maybe it was in their programming but…it felt like something else.

Sentience?

Foxy said that he missed entertaining kids, he must have been cripplingly lonely, rusting away in that cove of his. Hunting Mike was probably the only thing he got to take part in these days.

But when they were talking, he seemed…different. Human, almost.

Maybe the whole murdering thing _was_ a misunderstanding. If he could talk with Freddy…

_‘What am I thinking? I got lucky tonight.’_  Mike scolded himself. _‘I should just leave. Never come back.’_

With a sigh, he decided to check the stage camera, just to make sure that it was safe to leave before grabbing his coat and heading down the hallway.

As Mike approached the door, he slowly came to a halt. His eyes wandered up to the stage area, where Freddy, Bonnie and Chica were already back in their positions, ready for another day of entertaining children.

“Why didn’t you guys attack me when you had the chance…?” The young man mumbled, half expecting one of the lifeless machines to answer him.

His gaze went from the stage to the purple, starry curtains that resided nearby. They were completely shut over now, a small wooden sign that read: _“Out of Order!”_ situated in front.

Maybe…maybe there was a way.

Mike shook his head in exhaustion and opened the door, a crisp breeze welcoming him to the morning.

After a well-earned rest, he would figure things out.

As the lights brought the restaurant back to life, Freddy’s bright blue eyes remained trained on the door, his memory banks going through every word of the little exchange between the human and Foxy.

The bear gripped his microphone, his mechanical ear twitching ever so slightly.

_“How curious…”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Looks like Foxy might be convinced, but what about the others? Will Mike even return? You'll just have to stay tuned to find out. :)


	3. The Fresh Start

This was the only time when he felt truly calm.

No stress, no anxiety. Just a cocoon of warmth, dark and protection keeping him safe from the outside world. With a small smile of content, he snuggled in to his side. If only this could last forever…

A shrill beeping brought everything back to reality.

With a small moan of protest, Mike slowly opened his eyes, wincing when the bright rays of the sun blinded him through his window.

_‘Ugh…how long have I been asleep…?’_

He lazily turned his head to look at the alarm clock, which was still beeping away. It was 4pm in the afternoon, still early.

Resisting the temptation to roll over and doze, he forced himself to get up from bed and stumbled throughout his apartment. The space was pitifully small, with his living room and kitchen being literally combined and his bedroom and bathroom were so small that even a mouse would feel claustrophobic.

But hey, beggars can’t be choosers. At least it was clean and comfortable.

Mike went through to the kitchen to pour himself a glass of water before dumping himself onto the couch, taking a long drink. His strained throat was incredibly grateful.

With a satisfied sigh, he set the glass down and rubbed his temples, he finally had a moment to properly think.

What…what happened last night?

_‘Went to work, checked the cameras as usual, things went south, animatronics came after me, the door wouldn’t work and…’_

Mike’s eyes snapped open.

The whole incident was a blur and he couldn’t remember much, but he could recall how the fox animatronic towered over him, the glint of his hook in the faded lights. Mike tried to fight back but…somehow, the robot started talking.

Mike knew that he was incredibly lucky even to just be sitting here, instead of being stuffed into one of those backstage Freddy suits, probably gutted and slowly bleeding to death. He instinctively shuddered at the thought.

_‘Yeah…probably shouldn’t think of that.’_ Mike reminded himself.

But it did make him think. Somehow, he had managed to convince one of those things not to kill him. Just by _talking_ to it.

Well, lying would be the more accurate term. He honestly didn’t think it would have even worked.

But what about tonight?

He may have managed to fend Foxy off but that was only on the terms that somehow he would talk to Freddy.

Mike never thought he would dread such a…goofy sounding name.

But alas, Freddy was the leader of the group. According to Foxy, his word meant law in that pizzeria, and right now he really wanted Mike stuffed into a suit.

_‘I have to convince him that I’m not an endoskeleton, otherwise I’m dead.’_

Though there was still the option of just…not going back at all. Why was he even questioning this?

Mike frowned, there was always this niggling presence at the back of his mind that beckoned him to go every night, despite the horrors that awaited him. It was like…he had unfinished business there or something. He _needed_ to go back.

_‘God, I’m such a dumbass.’_ Mike thought to himself as he covered his face and let out a defeated sigh.

He wasn’t sure how much more of this he could take. This was only his third week and he had already had a complete mental breakdown. During the day he would flinch at the slightest of noises, jump at moving shadows.

He was an absolute wreck.

To further prove this point, he nearly leaped from the couch when there was a light knock at the door.

_“Mr. Schmidt?”_ A small voice called out from behind the door, _“Mr. Schmidt, it’s Aaron.”_ There was a small pause. _“I um…think I left my ball in your apartment. Mister?”_

Mike was taking a moment to comprehend what was even going on before it dawned on him.

“Shit…” The guard quietly swore as he scrambled to get up from the couch before turning to the door, “J-Just wait a moment, I’ll…go look for it!” He shouted as he practically started to run towards his bedroom to get some pants and a shirt on.

Aaron lived just a few rooms down in the apartment complex, kid was about…eleven or twelve? Mike didn’t really know, but he was young.  He had moved in not so long ago with his mother who…was quite another story altogether.

As soon as Mike looked decent enough, he looked around his messy flat for the spherical toy. How it managed to get in here was beyond him…

But lo and behold, there it was. Sitting in the corner of the living room/kitchen.

The guard frowned but decided not to question it as he picked the ball up and moved to the front door, opening it up to the little boy, who beamed when he saw the object in Mike’s arms.

“You lookin’ for this, champ?” Mike jested as he lightly tossed it to the kid, who caught it with ease.

“Oh man, thanks Mr-“

“Mike.” The guard interrupted, “Mister makes me feel old….”

Aaron stopped but nodded.

“So uh…how’s things…?” Mike started.

“Fine.” The child bluntly answered, switching his gaze down to the ball as he dropped it to the ground and rolled it around with his foot.

Mike gave him a sympathetic look. He had sort of took to looking after the kid every now and then, taking him out to play soccer or to grab a bite to eat. Aaron always asked hm to take him to Fazbear’s but he refused.

Always.

In a way, he had sort of become like a discount big brother figure. But it wasn’t right. None of it was. He just didn’t know what to do. And with work becoming more of a problem for Mike, he just couldn’t be around to look out for the kid all that much anymore, and he was worried about the consequences it could bring.

He decided to at least ask, maybe get more of a grasp of what was going on.

“How’s your…?”

“She’s fine.” The boy curtly answered again, before asking, “Hey, do you wanna hang out later?”

Mike frowned but quickly covered it up with a smile, he decided not to push the topic further.

“Sorry champ, but I have to drop into work today.”

“I thought you worked at night.” Aaron said, his tone dropping to one of disappointment.

“Paperwork to sort out, just boring adult stuff.” Mike lied, though he would have taken paperwork over dealing with homicidal robots any day.

“Oh…” Aaron trailed off with a thoughtful expression.

Oh God, Mike knew that look.

_‘Don’t ask to come. Don’t ask to come. Don’t ask to-‘_

“Can I come with ya?”

_‘Damn it.’_

“You know why I can’t do that.” Mike sighed, crossing his arms.

“Because it’s work.” Aaron sarcastically drawled out with a roll of his eyes, “But c’mon, just say I’m your like…. apprentice or somethin’!”

“You’re eleven.”

“Twelve!” The boy corrected, not looking best pleased.

“I can’t.” The guard tried to change the subject quickly, “But I can bring back a pizza, yeah? Then we can hang out.”

“…Fine.” Aaron pushed up his massive glasses and gave Mike a determined look, “But all the other kids get to go there.”

Mike chuckled, a little in amusement, mostly in nervousness. Oh, if he only knew.

Actually, he took that back. No child should witness the horrors of that place.

Before Mike could say anything else, Aaron kicked his ball down the hall and chased after it, “I’ll be at the park so get me there!” He shouted, before adding, “And bring pepperoni!”

Mike gave a light sigh, “Right.”

Closing the door behind him, he glanced down at his watch, it was nearly 5pm. The place would be shutting soon. If he was going to return tonight, he was going to need help to somehow get Freddy’s attention without getting himself killed. Foxy seemed to be his best option, but was he even operational during the day?

Mike took a deep breath.

“Ah, screw it.” The guard mumbled as he quickly grabbed his coat, “I’ll take my chances.”

Besides, he did promise that kid a pizza.

* * *

 

As he pushed the large glass doors open, he was met with nothing but absolute chaos.

Children were running and screaming everywhere, food and toys flew across the restaurant. It was difficult to avoid being hit _and_ not trip up over the hyperactive kids, but Mike managed nonetheless.

A few of the parents seemed as though they were trying to calm their own children down, but most of them were either outside smoking or were sitting at the tables, just…not bothering. Mike slowly managed to get through to the dining area, where he noticed exhausted looking staff trying to keep up with the amount of orders they were receiving. The waitresses struggled to manoeuvre their way through the crowds while balancing steaming hot trays of pizza on their hands.

Huh. Maybe his job wasn’t so bad after all.

“Excuse me, sir?” A bored voice called out to him. Mike looked around until he saw a slim, blonde woman, looking roughly in her thirties coming towards him with a stern, scrutinised look.

“Sir, I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”

“What? Why?” Mike asked, a little surprised. He hadn’t done anything, had he?

“Adults must be accompanied with a child to get a table.” She paused as she looked him up and down, almost like she was judging him for even existing.

“Oh, no, no. You don’t understand. I work here. I’m the Night Guard, my name’s Mike Schmidt.” He explained, hoping she would at least be a little friendlier, now that she knew he was part of the staff.

But that didn’t seem to be the case, as she sighed and held out her heavily manicured hand.

“Your ID, please?”

_‘You’ve gotta be kidding me.’_ Mike thought with a frown.

“Michael?” A new voice called out, “Michael Schmidt?”

A tall, rounded man with greying hair came up from behind her, his blue suit and red tie could be easily spotted from a mile off, even in this crowd.

“Mr…Mr. Hastings…!” Mike called back in a wavering voice, his lips upturned in a nervous grin.

Shit. Why was the manager out on the floor? He was usually holed up in his office during the day.

“It’s alright, Julie. He’s with us.” Hastings said with a dismissive wave to the woman, who simply shrugged and walked off, not really seeming to care all that much.

Mike swallowed as the older man turned back to him.

“What on earth are you doing here during daylight hours, son?” He asked before his smile turned into a sour frown, “You’re not quitting already, are you?”

“N-no sir…I was just passing by.” He answered as he gave a quick glance towards Pirate’s Cove. The curtains were shut, he wondered if Foxy was even active right now.

“Ah. Good.” Hastings let out a small sigh of relief, “We’ve lost too many guards already…”

_‘Gee. I wonder why.’_ Mike bitterly fought the urge to roll his eyes.

“Well, I best be moving along. The paperwork isn’t going to sort itself out, eh?”

Mike forced a fake smile, “Right.”

Mr. Hastings gave the guard a small nudge on the shoulder and motioned towards the stage, “The show’s about to start, you should stick around, Michael. Get a discount on the food while you’re at it too. Enjoy!” With that, his boss walked off.

Mike finally managed to drop the smile and sighed. He never really did like that man, there was always something…off about him.

His thoughts were interrupted as the lights suddenly dimmed down and the room went silent, all eyes turned to the show stage. A bright spotlight focused on the curtains and a booming voice called out through the surrounding speakers.

_“Greetings Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls! Welcome to Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria! We hope you’re enjoying your pizza and are having tons of fun today!”_

The speaker paused for a moment as if he were waiting for a huge uproar of cheers and such, but the only noise was that of a few children arguing over a toy, and their parent scolding them. After an excruciating prolonged silence, he continued.

_“Now you’re all in for a special treat, because a certain bear wants to come out and meet you!”_

Mike couldn’t help but flinch at that.

_“Now, everybody give a big welcome to…”_

An exaggerated drumroll sounded out and several coloured lights started swivelling around the room. Kids gasped in amazement while the parents chuckled in amusement. Mike could only raise an eyebrow.

_“Freddy Fazbear and the gang!”_

The curtains shot open and the spotlight focused on the restaurant’s famous mascot, while two more shone upon Bonnie and Chica, who were to the right and left of him. The dining room went into utter chaos again as children shouted, cheered, clapped and cried. Mike wasn’t exactly sure if they were ecstatic or terrified.

He was the latter.

Thankfully, the noise eventually died down and Freddy held up his microphone. His jaw lowered ever so slightly before a deep but gentle voice resonated from him.

“Hello there children and welcome to my pizzeria, the best in town! I do hope you’re all enjoying yourselves today?”

As he lowered his microphone to the audience, there was a chorus of “Yeah Freddy!” or “We sure are, Freddy!” The animatronic bear nodded in approval.

“My, my…we sure do have a lot of talented young people in here, don’t we Bonnie?”

The violet bunny turned his head to Freddy before jerkily nodding, “We sure do, Freddy! There’s a ton of great guys and gals and I can’t wait to play with you all! We’re all gonna have lots of fun!”

Bonnie’s voice had a slightly higher pitch and an almost gravelled tone to it. Guess it was to fit the whole ‘Rockstar’ personality he had to go along with the red guitar he carried.

“Of course, we are!” A feminine voice added, with a slight accent to it. Chica held up her cupcake prop and waved to the crowd, before adding, “And remember to eat plenty of pizza, after all, mine’s the best in the entire world!” She cheered.

“They sure are, Chica.” Freddy nodded, “Nobody would doubt that!”

For once, Mike had to agree. Those pizzas that she apparently cooked and left for him at the start of his shifts were pretty damn delicious.

“Now, how about we sing a song for these lovely ladies and gents? Would you like that, kids?” Freddy asked as he put a mechanical paw up to his ear and leaned forward, cheers and shouts answered him.

Bonnie readied his guitar prop and Chica held up her…cupcake, while Freddy raised his microphone.

“Alright gang. Hit it!”

The three animatronics broke out into a number of cheesy songs about friendship and pizza. Mike had to stifle a laugh at how stiff and jerky they were, it was a stark contrast compared to how swiftly they moved at night.

With the staff busy and his boss out of sight, this was his chance.

Mike slowly made his way to Pirate’s Cove, trying not to look too suspicious. All the while, he kept an eye on the animatronic band still playing on stage, half-expecting them to suddenly jump off the stage and charge straight for him.

Luckily, they didn’t seem to even notice him as they kept singing and entertaining the children. As Mike reached the out of bounds stage, he opened a slit in the curtains and slipped through. Though as soon as he did, he was hit with complete darkness.

Squinting, he started to make his way through the empty show area, cursing his stupid ideas.

_‘Damn, it’s dark. And quiet. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea.’_

He turned around to go back, only…he couldn’t even _see_ the way back, there was no light to guide him. Mike held out his hands, hoping to feel for the curtains or even a wall to guide him back to the dining area, but to no avail.

How big _was_ Pirate’s Cove? Mike had only thought it was a mini show stage or something, but right now it just seemed like a never-ending black abyss. Panic was starting to set in now…

Finally, he came across something. It felt…soft, so it wasn’t a wall. But it was too solid to be the curtains.

_‘Oh God.’_ Mike thought as his eyes widened. _‘Please tell me he’s offline.’_

“Arghh…who be there?” A soft but gruff voice asked.

The guard immediately jumped back as a single yellow eye shone through the darkness and looked directly at him. Mike had to hold up a hand to shield his own eyes against the blinding light.

“Uh…” He started, wondering if now would be a good time to start running, “It’s Mike…w-we talked last night…?”

The eye blinked for a moment, “The endo’ who’s not an endo’?”

“Right…”

 Did Foxy not remember his name? It hadn’t even been 24 hours yet.

“Ye ain’t ever been in during the day before.” The animatronic replied. The eye gained height and there was a sound of metal scraping together, Mike presumed he must have been standing up.

“Well…guess I’ve never really had a reason to before.” Mike reluctantly answered, panicking when the eye seemed to be turning away, leaving him in complete darkness once again.

That didn’t last long though, as a click suddenly brought all the lights back to life, illuminating the room. Mike had trouble adjusting his eyes for a moment, but he did manage to see Foxy standing nearby, his metal finger hovering over a switch.

“So what be yer reason now then, eh?”

“I…well…”

His mind stopped working for a moment as he looked around the now lighted area in awe. He had no idea there was a whole pirate themed room behind the small show stage. There were foam pirate swords stashed in a box, balloon palm trees and treasure chests and even a large wooden ship smack bang in the middle, carved out so it could act as a play area for children.

It was a kid’s paradise.

Despite the space being neglected for what Mike presumed were years, it was still immaculate. Did that mean Foxy was doing the housekeeping? He doubted it was the cleaning staff, nobody was allowed back here after all.

“Damn…this place is huge…” Mike muttered.

Foxy tilted his head.

“Ye act like ye’ve never seen it before. Didn’t ye say ye came here when ye were a wee lad?”

Shit, he forgot about that.

“Yeah, yeah I have. It’s just….” The guard nervously smiled, “Never realised how big it really was, y’know?”

Thankfully, Foxy seemed to buy it.

“Well, it be this pirate’s lair. Though it was…really for the kiddies…”

The animatronic’s ears drooped slightly. Mike couldn’t help but feel a pang of sympathy, despite his unease.

“How’s it so clean? Do you have a hoover back there or something?” He joked, hoping to lighten the mood somewhat.

“I like ta do a bit o’ dustin’ every now and then, keep it tidy for the wee ones.” Foxy said, brushing off a stray bit of dust from a prop.

“So…wait…you still put on shows in here then?” Mike asked, a little confused. He could have sworn that this place was off limits to…well, anyone.

“…No.” The fox shifted slightly, looking a bit embarrassed, “They put me out of order, they did.” There was an obvious hint of bitterness in his mechanical voice, Mike couldn’t help but feel a bit more on edge.

“Ok…well…place looks great.” Mike decided to get back to his original plan, “I actually came here to ask for your help.”

“Oh? This be about ol’ Freddy, I suppose.” Foxy stated, giving the guard a look.

“…Yeah.” Mike said with a sheepish grin, “Look, I really don’t want to have to fend for my life anymore and if…we can convince the others that I’m human-“

“Ye don’t get stuffed.”

“-I won’t die.”

Foxy let out a garbled equivalent of a sigh, he looked unsure.

“Look, ye seem like a nice lad, but I don’t see why-“

“Please.” Mike interrupted, desperation taking over him now. Foxy looked at the human with slight surprise, before curiously studying him.

“…Why don’t ye jus’ leave this place? That would probably solve yer problem.” There was a hint of sarcasm in the animatronic’s voice.

“I uh…” He really didn’t know how to word this, “I just have to. It’s my job.”

There was a beat of silence as the fox seemed to mull it over.

“…Yer a strange one.” Foxy finally said.

God, even the robot thought he was stupid.

“I could try, mate. No promises they’ll listen though. They be a stubborn trio.” The animatronic said with a shrug before tending to another one of his props, turning his back completely to the guard.

Seemed as though this was the best he was going to get. At least he actually had a bit of a chance now, albeit a small one.

“Um…well…thank you.” Mike awkwardly said as he slowly backed off towards the curtains, “I’ll show myself out, yeah? S-see you tonight.”

He could feel himself start to get jittery, so he quickly turned and made his way back to the dining area.

As soon as he touched the purple curtains, a cold metal hand grabbed his arm and pull him back. It took absolutely everything in him not to scream like hell.

“What are you-?!” Mike was cut off as the hand let go of his arm to clamp around his mouth instead, a little too tightly for his liking.

“Jus’ wait a wee minute!” Foxy whispered as he pulled the young man back into Pirate’s Cove before finally letting go. Mike rubbed at his sore face, he was lucky his damn teeth didn’t break.

“The fuck is wrong with you?” Mike angrily asked, though he suddenly regretted it as he remembered he was speaking to a seven-foot robot who could easily kill him without a moment’s hesitation.

The animatronic looked down to the floor for a moment, almost in shame.

“S-sorry…I shouldn’t have grabbed ye like tha’…”

“It’s…It’s fine.” Mike nervously crossed his arms, “What’s suddenly so urgent?”

Foxy continued to look down at the floor before sheepishly fiddling with his hook.

“Ye wouldn’ mind…stayin’ for a while, would ye? Can’t remember the las’ time I interacted with a human. This ol’ fox be a bit…lonely sometimes.”

Mike blinked in surprise, he certainly wasn’t expecting…this.

Even when he was being hunted, he had noticed that Foxy just seemed so…isolated from the others. Mike could relate to that, somewhat.

Plus, if he got this machine to trust him. It would help him in the long run, especially with tonight.

“Well, I…” He smiled slightly, “Suppose it couldn’t hurt to stay for a little while.”

Foxy’s look of shame quickly turned into a joyful, toothy grin that looked all the more unnaturally wide due to the slackened jaw. Even with the lights on, it was still terrifying. But Mike managed to swallow back his fear and nervously grinned back.

“Great!” Foxy said, excitement in his tone, “But we should probably keep our voices down, eh? Don’t want anyone else comin’ in.”

Mike swallowed.

“Right.”

“Now how abou’ a story? I’ve got a ton memorised on me hard drive!”

Before Mike could even respond, the animatronic launched them into a tale about how he single-handedly took down the most feared pirate captain that ever sailed the Seven Seas; Blackbeard.

As Foxy rambled on, Mike decided to sit down on the floor cross-legged, after a while he couldn’t help but start to get engrossed in the stories. Foxy was certainly good at his job.

He almost felt like a kid again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aww looks like poor lonesome Foxy might have a new BFF, eh? :p
> 
> Let me know what y'all think and be sure to follow me on Tumblr for shenanigans and random thoughts and whatnot. I also do art commissions! 
> 
> Link - https://nyrandrea.tumblr.com/  
> Art blog - https://nyrandrea-art.tumblr.com/

**Author's Note:**

> So hey! This is actually a re-write of a fic I wrote a few years back as I want to see how far I've come in terms of writing skills and whatnot (and see if I can actually finish it lol). Apologies for the short first chapter but trust me, this was just to get the ball rolling and things will start to ramp up.
> 
> Let me know what y'all think!


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